This sophisticated volume imagines an ideal wine cellar, a collection of the most expensive and prestigious wines from around the world. Every label that has had a great impact on the history of wine is included. In recent years, wine has become a luxury item, a collectible, and an investment, as well as a simple commodity. The bottles themselves have become cult objects. This book celebrates the rarest wines that are sought after by collectors and coveted by enthusiasts and connoisseurs. Wine collecting is a hobby that takes time, but will ultimately reap satisfying rewards. Owning a large collection of the best wines makes these wine collections remarkable. More and more people have become passionate about exclusive wines and possess prestigious collections, including some bottles that date back to the nineteenth century. This is the perfect book for those avid and passionate wine collectors. Each section includes an introduction on each wine region's history, landscapes, distinctive qualities, major wineries, the most prestigious wines, notable collectors, and bottles considered works of art. The volume is completed with discussions of the world of collectibles, significant trends, and the major auction houses. It also includes gorgeous photographs of prominent collectors' cellars and information on one-of-a-kind bottles that will help aspiring collectors navigate a world that has become increasingly exclusive.

The adventure of a lifetime to buy Stalin's secret multimillion dollar wine cellar located in Georgia; it is the Raiders of the Lost Ark of wine. In the late 1990s, John Baker was known as a purveyor of quality rare and old wines. He was the perfect person for an occasional business partner to approach with a mysterious wine list that was different to anything John, or his second-in-command, Kevin Hopko, had ever come across. The list was discovered to be a comprehensive catalogue of the wine collection of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia. The wine had become the property of the state after the Russian Revolution of 1918, during which Nicholas and his entire family were executed. Now owned by Stalin, the wine was discreetly removed to a remote Georgian winery when Stalin was concerned the advancing Nazi army might overrun Russia. Half a century later, the wine was rumoured to be hidden underground and off any known map. John and Kevin embarked on an audacious, colourful and potentially dangerous journey to Georgia to discover if the wines actually existed; if the bottles were authentic and whether the entire collection could be bought and transported to a major London auction house for sale. Stalin's Wine Cellar is a wild, sometimes rough ride through the glamorous world of high-end wine.

In Extreme Wine, wine economist and best-selling author Mike Veseth circles the globe searching for the best, worst, cheapest, most expensive, and most over-priced wines. Mike seeks out the most outrageous wine people and places and probes the biggest wine booms and busts. Along the way he applauds celebrity wines, tries to find wine at the movies, and discovers wines that are so scarce that they are almost invisible. Why go to such extremes? Because, Mike argues, the world of wine is growing and changing, and if you want to find out what’s really happening you can’t be afraid to step over the edge. Written with verve and appreciation for all things wine, Extreme Wine will surprise and delight readers.

The most beautiful wine cellars in the world provides a unique perspective on the most beautiful, impressive and atmospheric cellars through which many a wine enthusiast would gladly be allowed to wander. An intercontinental journey through both ancient, hidden-away 'treasure troves' as well as latter-day wine cellars held by wine producing domaines, wine merchants, hotels, restaurants and private individuals. The entries were coordinated by wine connoisseur Jurgen Lijcops, who has worked as sommelier and chef-sommelier in a variety of leading restaurants. Thanks to the hundreds of full-page photographs and splendid details, you are able to take a fantasy tour passing alongside musty bottles centuries old, wrought iron gates in subterranean tunnels and grottos, wine racks stretching for kilometres, cellars not open to the public, wine archives, ageing cellars, glass wine cellars and contemporary cellars fitted with the very latest in gadgets.

Wine regions are attracting increasing numbers of tourists through tours, wine festivals and events, and winery, restaurant and cellar door experiences. Using a host of case studies from Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand this book reviews the latest wine tourism research and management and marketing strategies. The book highlights the lessons learnt for wine, tourism and related industries and concludes by examining the future of the wine tourism industry.